Video of a US drone landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan was shown on Iran's state TV broadcaster after a RQ-170 was captured.AP

HE’S 24. He’s growing up. Give him a break.

Stephon Marbury came back to the Meadowlands last night and showed the kind of composure that is reserved for 10-year veterans.

Before the game, at least.

Even though he was taken to task this week by Byron Scott, who told exactly how it was with Marbury running the Nets show, Marbury took it all in stride.

“I don’t get mad at someone lashing out or being frustrated,” Marbury said of Scott’s critical comments. “That’s normal.

“That’s his opinion, that’s all right. When you’re losing, it’s hard. He was frustrated. I was frustrated. When you’re losing, things don’t just work out. Sometimes it’s good to change.”

There’s been too much change in Marbury’s career. What he needs now more than anything else is continuity. He has to be happy where he plays. It’s up to him now. Three teams in six years is not good. The trade for Jason Kidd should be Marbury’s last stop. Unless, of course, the Knicks can someday really bring him home.

“I’ve been with three different teams, not by my choice, they traded me,” Marbury said. “Of course I would love to stay someplace and play.”

Here is where Marbury’s immaturity shows. He was the one who forced the trade from Minnesota to the Nets. Soon after arriving, he realized the court isn’t always greener close to home. He became so frustrated with the Nets he had to get out.

“My game hasn’t changed at all,” he said. “Now I’m playing with Phoenix … As far as being selfish [with the Nets], I think at times I probably was a little bit selfish due to the fact we had a lot of guys down.”

Playing with Penny Hardaway, Tom Gugliotta and Shawn Marion has a way of brightening your day. Phoenix has won five straight. “Playing there allows my whole game to show,” said Marbury, who is averaging 21.8 points, 7.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and is shooting 54 percent over the last eight games. “I’m just trying to play every game in the present, I’m not trying to play in the future or the past.”

Still, it’s nice to come home to New York. “I’m happy to be back, like I said, the city is so nice, they named it twice,” Marbury said. “It’s a beautiful place to live, a beautiful place to grow up because you get to deal with so many people.”

There was one dig at Scott when Marbury noted of Scott Skiles, “Playing with Coach Skiles, I’m more in tune. He was a point guard. He knows different aspects of my game.”

As for life with the Nets, Marbury said, “I wish I could have accomplished a lot more. I wish I could have won a championship.”

If he could have won a championship with the Nets, Marbury would have been Michael Jordan II. Marbury also noted that Kidd is a special player.

“Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards in the NBA,” Marbury said. “He’s a guy who really gets the team going and they play off of him. He’s a guy who makes the guys better around him … We’re two different kind of players.”

They are, and Kidd is four years older than Marbury. In the NBA that’s like dog years. Marbury also pointed out that Phoenix basketball is a fun deal. “It’s a basketball state,” he said. “They really love their players.

“The people there are great,” he said. “Everything is predicated on winning. Jerry Colangelo and Brian Colangelo have been nothing but good to me as far as me as a person and as a basketball player, and the thing I really like about the organization is that they care about how you are as a person.

“I know who I am as a person, as a player, that’s the most important thing.

“I love Phoenix. I got peace of mind there.”

It’s about time. It’s up to Marbury, and no one else, to make sure that peace of mind lasts.